Kirkuk resettlement plan causes controversy

Iraq's government is to try to resettle thousands of Arabs who were moved north to the oil rich city of Kirkuk during Saddam Hussein's regime, in a move popular with Kurds but bitterly opposed by Sunni Arab nationalists.

The Arabs will be compensated with land and money if they relocate to their original homes in the south, under plans approved at the weekend. Those who leave will be paid about $15,000 (£7,600) and given land in their former home towns.

The Kurds have threatened to withdraw from the government in Baghdad if the plans are not implemented.